tangub city's 2013 christmas symbols

as promised, here are the enchanting christmas lights at the beautiful town of tangub city. all these pictures were taken while battling through the crowd who went to the town plaza to witness the lighting ceremony. these are the reasons why i believe tangub city is a must-visit during christmas time, at least to those like me who find beauty in the glittering lights! hope you enjoy them as much as as i did, and hopefully encourage you to visit the little town of tangub city in misamis occidental, in mindanao.. ENJOY, ENJOY!!!

christmas symbol 2013 pre-opening activities

i didn't do much traveling this year. early on, i've decided to cut back on my trips to focus on another life goal. NAH!!! my travel fund had dwindled, haha. anyway, despite this set back, i managed to push through with the plan to revisit tangub city to witness the opening of this year's christmas symbols.

the travel experience to tangub had both good and bad points. it was more than fantastic as i learned that Christmas lights still never fail to bring a smile to me. the exhilaration i felt looking at the lights and taking quick snaps of the scene before me was priceless.

'manila' with a british twang

this isn't exactly travel related. but hey, london + manila, two beautiful destinations, it should merit a mention here, right?

truthfully, this post has nothing to do with the two lovely places. i just wanted to share the video below for the novelty of it. the video is of a british trio who collectively calls themselves 'blake'. these british singers sang live a popular tagalog song entitled 'manila' before thousands of filipinos in london. the song was originally popularized by a 70's (correct?) band called 'hotdogs.'



ain't their accent a darling?

anyway, the video was lifted from the group's official site. or at least the youtube link was from their site.

cebu trick art museum

Today marks the opening of what could become one of the must-see places in Cebu - Cebu Trick Art Museum. One of my frustrations of not living in the capital is the limited venues available in my beloved Cebu as far as museums go. So, i was so glad when I learned that a new museum will be opening in my city. Thus, as soon as tickets became available, I readily purchased a ticket for myself.

I initially planned on going solo but decided against it. Cebu Trick Art Museum is an interactive museum and could best be enjoyed if you go with a friend or in a big grou - definitely not solo. So, I was glad I went there with my two siblings.

siquijor accommodation: hambilica cottages

do not underestimate mystic island, siquijor EVER!!!
a couple of friends and i went to siquijor holy week of last year (april 5-8, 2012). we went there without reserving a room to stay. we figured that siquijor isn't as popular as the other beach destination in the country. the mystery and supposed mysticism surrounding this beautiful island has made few people tentative about visiting siquijor.

how to get to siquijor

siquijor pier. april 5, 2012

how to get to dumaguete

being from cebu, i believe bohol or dumaguete are the best destinations to jumpstart and indulge your travel lust. for one, these places are near enough to cebu that it's not scary to venture even alone. moreover, getting to either place is easy. but for this post, i'll focus on dumaguete, specifically on how to get to dumaguete.

watch out for MCIA's soon-to-be revamp

in an earlier posting i lamented that while cebu is one of the top destinations in the country, it's current airport is rather wanting in many areas. being the second largest airport in the country in terms of passenger traffic, its facilities are rather old, and entire space is small. but there's some GOOD NEWS!!!

travel plans 2013

what are your travel plans for 2013?
the above question is an appropriate question to ask at the beginning of the year. however, as i'm not a consistent and timely blogger, you will understand why the said question is only asked now. but before i answer that question, (as if someone actually is interested in knowing my plans,) let me mention that earlier today and yesterday, i attended ccf's leadership training seminar 2013. the seminar ended with a message from pastor peter tan-chi reminding attendees about not limiting GOD. with that fresh in my mind, i'd like to believe that more travel opportunities will come my way this year. last year, i've only visited 3 new towns in the country namely, siquijor (april), coron palawan (september), and tangub city (december). this year, i only have two plans so far.

siquijor travel guide

for some miracle, i regain access to pictures of my siquijor trip last year. so, i'm working on creating a little travel guide for this gem of a place.

Getting to Mactan Cebu Airport by Public Transportation

In an earlier post, I talked about how to get out of Mactan Cebu International Airport via public transportation. You may read the post ---> HERE. So now reality strikes, and your vacation is almost over: time to go home.

getting out of mactan airport

when i visit a town/city for the first time, how to get to and out of that town's airport is often the top priority in my research list. i figured, it'd be a good idea to compile posts featuring the airports in the country. so far, i've written about the airports in puerto princesa, coron, and caticlan. this time, i'm featuring my very own mactan cebu international airport. i've been to this airport countless of times that it was easy to overlook writing a post about it.

the vetlongwalks' mark and the sandugo pair

I'm straight, but I don't embody a typical girl. I get more highs browsing at hardware stores than I do at women's department. Instead of wearing power heels and dainty sandals, you'll most like see me in my Sandugo rubber sandals. This post is actually a tale of my Sandugo rubber sandals. I'm writing about it because I'm amazed that even after almost seven years, this pair of sandals is still as functional as the first day I've worn it back in April 2006.

Please let me warn you that what you'll see here are actually just pictures of my feet, haha!^^

coron village lodge

our trip to coron palawan august of last year was arranged by my sister and her friend. there were 9 of us in the trip and they thought it'd be better to avail of a packaged tour. so, after several considerations and inquiries, we availed of the tour through coron eco adventures. for a 4D/3N package, we paid PhP6,670 each (roughly $160), and the package had the following inclusions:

animal trippin'

i never had a pet growing up. unless, you count the time when my mother raised some pigs to help augment the family income when i was in grade school. then, i helped feed the one or two pigs we had with leftovers mixed with finely chopped "kangkong" and "tahop". anyway, i have nothing against animals, but i never developed certain fondness for them. curiously, in some of my travels, visiting a zoo seemed to become part of the itinerary.

palawan underground river tour

one of the highlights when visiting puerto princesa palawan is the underground river tour. the easiest and most convenient way to avail of the tour is through a travel operator. at least, that's the experience i had when i was there. of course, there is the option to DO-IT-YOURSELF, but i can't cover it here as i don't know how. the simplest explanation, hehe. for this, you have to allot one day in your itinerary. below is a run down of events that transpired during our tour.

how to get to el nido from puerto princesa

el nido is roughly 6 to 7 hours away from the capital of palawan - puerto princesa by land. while there are flights direct to el nido, the flights there are rather few and not to mention expensive. another option to get to this remote island paradise is by boat from coron. however, traveling by boat takes 8 hours. the third option, which is what i will discuss in this post is by land travel via puerto princesa.
if you didn't book a packaged tour, and will be traveling to el nido by public transportation, then read on for a quick how-to guide.

palawan butterfly garden

butterflies.

who doesn't love them?

Palawan City Tour

when visiting any place, and you don't know where to start, a safe rule of thumb is to do a city or a town tour. after all, it's your first time in that place and what best place to start than getting acquainted with the surroundings of your temporary home. in line with a promise to a friend that i'll blog about palawan as much as i could, i shall cover in this post the usual itinerary when doing a city tour within puerto princesa. i'll cover in a later post the town tour when in coron.